Thomas Beecham

Thomas Beecham (3 December 1820 – 6 April 1907) was a British businessman who founded Beechams, a large pharmaceutical business. In 1859, he focused on marketing the business by advertising in newspapers and using a network of wholesale agents in northern England and in London, rapidly building up the business. In August 1859, he created the slogan for Beecham's Pills: "Worth a guinea a box", which is considered to be the world's first advertising slogan, helping the company become a global brand.

Career Beecham's Clock Tower built in 1877 in St Helens, Merseyside, today serving as the College Administrative centre. Born in Curbridge in Oxfordshire, Beecham became a shepherd's boy at the age of 8 and it is in this role that he learnt about herbal medicine.

For a while he worked as the village postman in Kidlington but in 1847 he moved to Wigan, where he started selling Beecham's Pills which were a laxative. He created a network of agents throughout Lancashire and Yorkshire and by 1880 he had expanded his business so much that he was able to open his first factory. In their 1907 obituary of Beecham, the Daily Mirror said the slogan "Worth a guinea a box" was the making of the business and the foundation of a huge fortune. A great grandchild was the poet Audrey Beecham.